Poke ( Hawaiian for "to slice" or "cut crosswise into pieces"; sometimes anglicised as 'poké' to aid pronunciation) is diced raw fish served either as an appetizer or a main course and is one of the popular dishes in Hawaii. Traditional forms are ''aku'' (

skipjack tuna The skipjack tuna (''Katsuwonus pelamis'') is a medium-sized perciform fish in the tuna family, Scombridae. It is otherwise known as the balaya (Sri Lanka), bakulan/kayu (North Borneo), tongkol/aya (Malay Peninsula/Indonesia), aku (Hawaii), cakal ...

) and ''he'e'' (

octopus An octopus ( : octopuses or octopodes, see below for variants) is a soft-bodied, eight- limbed mollusc of the order Octopoda (, ). The order consists of some 300 species and is grouped within the class Cephalopoda with squids, cuttle ...

). ''Heʻe poke'' is sometimes called ''tako poke'' in places where the Hawaiian language is not spoken. Poke differs from other raw fish dishes in that it does not use citrus fruits as a

curing A cure is a completely effective treatment for a disease. Cure, or similar, may also refer to: Places * Cure (river), a river in France * Cures, Sabinum, an ancient Italian town * Cures, Sarthe, a commune in western France People * Curate or ...

agent.

History

Poke began with fishermen

seasoning Seasoning is the process of supplementing food via herbs, spices, salts, and/or sugar, intended to enhance a particular flavour. General meaning Seasonings include herbs and spices, which are themselves frequently referred to as "seasonings". Ho ...

the cut-offs from their catch to serve as a snack. According to the food historian

Rachel Laudan Rachel Laudan (born 1944) is a food historian, an author of the prizewinning ''Cuisine and Empire: Cooking in World History''.Hawaiian salt,

seaweed Seaweed, or macroalgae, refers to thousands of species of macroscopic, multicellular, marine algae. The term includes some types of '' Rhodophyta'' (red), ''Phaeophyta'' (brown) and ''Chlorophyta'' (green) macroalgae. Seaweed species such as ...

, and roasted, ground candlenut meat. This form of poke is still common in the Hawaiian islands. Beginning around 2012, poke became increasingly popular in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

.Vince Dixon
Data Dive: Tracking the Poke Trend: Proof that the Hawaiian dish is here to stay
''Eater'' (September 14, 2016). From 2014 to mid-2016, "the number of Hawaiian restaurants on Foursquare, which includes those that serve poke," doubled, going from 342 to 700. These restaurants serve both traditional and modern versions of the dish. The modern version is sometimes called poké bowl and may have the ingredients arranged in a grouped way rather than mixed. Contemporary poke restaurants are mostly—but not exclusively— fast casual style restaurants where the dish is fully customizable from the base to the marinade on the fish. There is a three-day "I Love Poke" festival held in San Diego yearly to celebrate the dish and its many variations.

Ingredients

The traditional Hawaiian poke consists of fish that has been gutted, skinned, and deboned. Traditional Hawaiian poke may consist of cubed raw fish, maui onions,

inamona Inamona is a condiment or relish used in traditional Hawaiian cooking made from roasted kukui nut (candlenuts) and sea salt. It is sometimes mixed with seaweeds, often accompanying meals. Inamona is often served with fresh fish. Uses Inamona is u ...

(roasted, crushed and salted candlenut), green onions, and/or sesame oil. It is served with traditional condiments such as Hawaiian sea salt and limu. Modern Hawaiian versions of traditional poke seasonings have been heavily influenced by Japanese and other

Asian cuisines Asian cuisine includes several major regional cuisines: Central Asian, East Asian, North Asian, South Asian, Southeast Asian, and West Asian. A cuisine is a characteristic style of cooking practices and traditions, usually associated with a spe ...

, such as

soy sauce Soy sauce (also called simply soy in American English and soya sauce in British English) is a liquid condiment of Chinese origin, traditionally made from a fermented paste of soybeans, roasted grain, brine, and '' Aspergillus oryzae'' or ''Asp ...

furikake is a dry Japanese condimentJapanese Furikake (Rice Seasoning)
. Japanese Kitchen. Accessed 28 ...

(mix of dried fish, sesame seeds, and dried seaweed), chopped dried or fresh chili pepper, fish eggs, and wasabi. Fish types may include cured ''hee'' (

), other types of raw tuna, raw salmon and various kinds of shellfish. North American variations may include

ponzu sauce is a citrus-based sauce commonly used in Japanese cuisine. It is tart, with a thin, watery consistency and nearly colorless. or is ponzu with soy sauce () added, and the mixed dark brown product is widely referred to as simply . The ter ...

teriyaki sauce ''Teriyaki'' (kanji: 照り焼き) is a cooking technique used in Japanese cuisine in which foods are broiled or grilled with a glaze of soy sauce, mirin, and sugar. Fish – yellowtail, marlin, skipjack tuna, salmon, trout, and macke ...

sriracha sauce Sriracha ( or ; th, ศรีราชา, ) is a type of hot sauce or chili sauce made from a paste of chili peppers, distilled vinegar, garlic, sugar, and salt. Use In Thailand, sriracha is frequently used as a dipping sauce, particular ...

, and

mayonnaise Mayonnaise (; ), colloquially referred to as "mayo" , is a thick, cold, and creamy sauce or dressing commonly used on sandwiches, hamburgers, composed salads, and French fries. It also forms the base for various other sauces, such as tartar ...

as sauces, and avocado, mushrooms, crispy onions, pickled jalapeño, cilantro, pineapple,

cucumber Cucumber (''Cucumis sativus'') is a widely-cultivated Vine#Horticultural climbing plants, creeping vine plant in the Cucurbitaceae family that bears usually cylindrical Fruit, fruits, which are used as culinary vegetables.

, edamame, green onions, and a variety of other fusion cuisine vegetables among the chopped ingredients. Unlike traditional Hawaiian poke, the mainland style is typically not pre-marinated but is instead prepared with sauces on demand. A variety of fish may be available, with

ahi tuna The yellowfin tuna (''Thunnus albacares'') is a species of tuna found in pelagic waters of tropical and subtropical oceans worldwide. Yellowfin is often marketed as ahi, from the Hawaiian , a name also used there for the closely related bigeye t ...

the most popular, and yellowtail, salmon, octopus,

crab Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" (abdomen) ( el, βραχύς , translit=brachys = short, / = tail), usually hidden entirely under the thorax. They live in all the ...

, and imitation crab as common additional choices. An option to add a base of cooked rice is not uncommon. Tako Poke

Similar dishes

Poke is similar to other Polynesian fish salads such as ''ika mata'' in the Cook Islands, ''kokoda'' in

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

, oka in Samoa and 'ota 'ika in Tonga. A very similar dish is the '' kinilaw'' of the Philippines. ''Kinilaw'' is usually raw diced fish marinated in citrus juice, sour fruits, or vinegar with extracts from mangrove bark or fruits (and sometimes

coconut milk Coconut milk is an opaque, milky-white liquid extracted from the grated pulp of mature coconuts. The opacity and rich taste of coconut milk are due to its high oil content, most of which is saturated fat. Coconut milk is a traditional food i ...

). This process can also be applied to other seafood and lightly blanched or grilled meat (the latter being generally differentiated as ''kilawin''). The dish was introduced to Guam during the

Spanish colonial period Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

, resulting in the derivative Chamorro dish of '' kelaguen''. The Ilocano dish poqui poqui of the Philippines also likely derived its name from poke, after the influx of Ilocano

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with ...

workers to Hawaii during the

American colonization of the Philippines American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

. However, they are very different dishes, with poqui poqui being a scrambled egg dish with grilled eggplants and tomatoes. Raw fish dishes similar to poke that are often served in Europe are fish carpaccio and fish

tartare Steak tartare or tartar steak is a dish of raw ground (minced) beef. It is usually served with onions, capers, mushrooms, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and other seasonings, often presented separately, to be added to taste. It is often serve ...

. Also similar to poke are Korean

hoe-deopbap ''Hoe-deopbap'' * () or raw fish bibimbap is a Korean dish consisting of steamed rice mixed with sliced or cubed '' saengseon hoe'' (raw fish), various vegetables such as lettuce, cucumber and sesame leaves, sesame oil, and '' chogochujang'' (a ...

, marinated raw tuna served over rice, and Peruvian ceviche. Japanese sashimi also consists of raw seafood; other similar Japanese dishes are zuke don, a

donburi is a Japanese "rice-bowl dish" consisting of fish, meat, vegetables or other ingredients simmered together and served over rice. ''Donburi'' meals are usually served in oversized rice bowls which are also called ''donburi''. If one needs to d ...

dish topped with cured fish (usually tuna or salmon) along with avocado topped with

furikake is a dry Japanese condimentJapanese Furikake (Rice Seasoning)
. Japanese Kitchen. Accessed 28 ...

, and kaisendon, a more elaborate version served with additional non-fish toppings.

References

External links

History of the poke contest
{{Salads Hawaiian cuisine Appetizers Raw fish salads National dishes Uncooked fish dishes Seafood dishes

History

Ingredients

Similar dishes

See also

References

External links